abstract expressionism

noun, often capitalized A&E

Definition of abstract expressionism

: an artistic movement of the mid-20th century comprising diverse styles and techniques and emphasizing especially an artist's liberty to convey attitudes and emotions through nontraditional and usually nonrepresentational means

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Examples of abstract expressionism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web As this story suggests, there can be a striking similarity between works of abstract expressionism and paintings by children—or even by chimps, monkeys and elephants. — Ellen Winner, WSJ, "Could Your Child Really Paint That?," 19 Oct. 2018 The exhibition includes early works based in abstract expressionism, the pop art style heads, 1970s process painting and a series of colorful pieces where paint becomes three dimensional by thickening it with Patch-n-Paint. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Fall arts 2019 | Visual art: At 86, artist Richard Allen Morris still experimenting," 15 Sep. 2019 With influences ranging from abstract expressionism to contemporary photographers like his friend Reuben Wu, Cobb's dreamlike work soon attracted critical attention—in 2018 he was named one of PDN's 30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch. — Wired, "These Hallucinatory Landscape Photographs Will Blow Your Mind," 1 Sep. 2019 The artist, whose breakthrough depictions of American flags and targets in the 1950s jolted painting away from abstract expressionism, is focused on new projects, not retrospectives. — Brenda Cronin, WSJ, "Jasper Johns Isn’t Done Yet," 22 Sep. 2018 Gorky was well tethered to the artists of the past, reaching from the Renaissance to Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso, but also to movements like precisionism, surrealism, and abstract expressionism. — Brian T. Allen, National Review, "Splendid Arshile Gorky, in Venice," 3 Aug. 2019 Strong family figures and laborers are placed beside religious imagery, abstract expressionism and fantastical creations. — Trevor Fraser, orlandosentinel.com, "Winter Park art museums have cure for summer doldrums," 2 July 2019 Burr juxtaposes the macho persona of abstract expressionism with a dash of dark femininity. — Susan Dunne, courant.com, "Two very different approaches to LGBTQ history at Atheneum, CHS," 18 June 2019 While abstract expressionism resulted in an almost chaotic design style thanks to its emotional intensity, minimalism sought to pare down to an essential nature and remove all excess, creating harmony from simplicity. — Sienna Fantozzi, House Beautiful, "What Is Minimalism, Exactly?," 24 Sep. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'abstract expressionism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

23 Oct 2019

Time Traveler for abstract expressionism

The first known use of abstract expressionism was in 1922

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WORD OF THE DAY

incongruous

not being in agreement or harmony

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